Three meals  with a little heat  to get the summer outdoor party started

Wednesday

May 25, 2011 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2011 at 1:00 PM

Marcia Vanderlip

You wouldn’t know this is National Barbecue Month. The rain and cool days have made it feel more like National Damp and Dreary Month. But the sun came out last week, making it a perfect time to get some grilling in before the sun set on May. We tossed a summery tablecloth on the picnic table and fired up the grill.

We like to ramp up the meat and fish flavors with marinades, herbs and spices. And we discovered we really like smoked paprika rubs on pork, chili and sesame seed sauce on salmon and cracked peppercorns and a tart Stilton sauce on tri-tips over a field of a greens and herb salad. That’s exactly what we did: three ways of grilling.

First up, after the cool front passed, was a hefty pork loin my husband had been saving for a sunny day. After thawing it, he gathered sage and rosemary from our overgrown garden and blended the herbs with garlic to stuff the loin. While the grill was heating, the meat rested for an hour on the counter, soaking up a good rub of smoked paprika, cayenne, coarse black pepper and sea salt.

While the meat was on the grill, we simmered some white beans, which had soaked overnight, with minced vegetables, herbs and a little bit of flavorful guanciale — cured pork jowl — in a pot on the stove. I sliced some fresh tomatoes, spring onions and Vidalia onions, doused them in a light vinaigrette and put them on a big platter, family style. The pork and beans enticed the carnivore son to come home for dinner and eat two servings. We could easily have served six or eight.

The leftover meat made another flavorful meal of “pork and greens”— cubed pork mixed with Asian turnip and turnip greens and finished with rice wine vinegar — the next day.

On another pleasant evening, we grilled inexpensive and flavorful tri-tip steaks but not before marinating them in red wine and garlic. They also are good marinated in lemon and garlic. We have a lot of Stilton cheese, so we made a white sauce, beginning with a roux and then adding white wine, a little chicken broth and then the Stilton. We served the sauce over the meat on a lightly dressed salad and topped it with red peppercorns. This is a great summer meal, and it goes well with a nice pinot noir (we like the Willamette pinots out of Washington state).

Grilling round three: Ultimately, I love salmon on the grill. So we picked up some frozen, wild-caught salmon. It is cheaper than fresh wild and is still delicious. We thawed it and grilled the rosy steaks with a sweet-spicy Asian sauce and served it with wasabi mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus doused in the same sauce. It makes a terrific meal, and all the leftovers are good cold the next day. Happy National Barbecue Month.

GRILLED HERBED PORK LOIN

1 bone-in 4- to 8-rib pork loin

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

For the spice-rub mix:

2 tablespoons smoked paprika (or whichever heat you desire)

1 tablespoon fresh, course-ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon onion powder

Mix together the chopped garlic, rosemary and sage

Run a sharp knife along the inside of the bone rack, leaving about an inch of meat to serve as a hinge. Open the rack and generously apply a layer of the garlic-herb mix to the meat, close back up and tie in three to five places with chef’s twine.

Rub the spice-rub mix over the entire loin, cover in plastic, and refrigerate for 3 hours or more. Overnight is just fine.

About an hour before roasting in the barbecue, remove the loin from the refrigerator, and allow it to sit at room temperature.

Preheat your barbecue (we have a gas grill) to 400 degrees, and lay the loin on the hot grill, bone side down. Keep an eye on the heat so it doesn’t go above 400 degrees, removing the cover as needed to regulate temperature. After 20 minutes, turn the loin over to grill the fat side; after 20 minutes, turn one more time. Your loin will be beautifully done in just under an hour. Shoot for 125 degrees internal temperature, then remove from heat and allow the loin to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

We recommend slicing between the rib bones, serving one lovely hunk of meat to each guest. The ribs at the ends will be medium-well, the ones in the center will be medium-rare.

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil, and add the bacon or guanciale. When the fat has been rendered and the meat begins to crisp, add the onion and allow it to soften in the fat. Add carrot, celery, and garlic, and allow to sweat for five minutes.

Add the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Add beans and cover with water. Bring to boil, and allow to cook for 40 minutes, adding water as needed.

Servings: 4-6

TOMATO SALAD

3-4 large tomatoes, cut into bite-sized wedges

6-8 fresh spring onions, sliced

1/3 purple or Vidalia sweet onion, sliced

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves or oregano leaves, chopped

Dressed with mixture of:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Juice of one lemon

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine tomatoes, spring onions, Vidalia onions and tarragon together in a bowl. Top with dressing mixture.

ASIAN GRILLED SOCKEYE SALMON

4-6 serving cuts of wild caught sockeye salmon fillet

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons white sesame seed

2 teaspoons black sesame seed (optional)

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, fine chopped

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the peanut oil and add the minced garlic and ginger root. Add soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and allow to thicken slightly. Add the red pepper flakes and the sesame oil, allow to thicken further. Add the sesame seeds and cilantro, and remove from heat.

Brush this glaze liberally over each salmon fillet; reserve remaining sauce in saucepan for steaming the asparagus. Grill fillets for 5-7 minutes over hot grill, covered. Remove from grill and allow to rest beneath a tent of aluminum foil.

Servings: 4-6

WASABI MASHED POTATOES

6-8 medium Yukon gold potatoes, rough cut

1/4 cup half & half

2 teaspoons wasabi powder

Boil potatoes in salted water until done enough to mash. Drain, and whip with the half & half. Add the wasabi, and whip until well incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 5 minutes or longer.

ASIAN STEAMED ASPARAGUS

1 large bunch of small asparagus, rinsed and trimmed

Leftover Asian sauce from Asian grilled sockeye salmon recipe

Reheat the sauce in the saucepan until bubbling; lay in the rinsed and trimmed asparagus, covering with sauce. Cover, and allow to steam over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until just tender enough to eat. Remove from heat.

STEAK AU POIVRE WITH STILTON SAUCE

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup crumbled Stilton cheese or other creamy bleu cheese)

Make a roux with the butter and flour. Add liquids, and whisk until beginning to thicken. Add the crumbled cheese, and whisk until incorporated and creamy. Set aside.

For the steak:

Any nice cut will work; you may not want to marinate the beef at all, but we often use an inexpensive cut — such as tri tips — that has been marinated for 3 hours to overnight in a bottle of red wine, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and a tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary.

Dry the steaks with paper towels, rub with olive oil, and sprinkle both sides with cracked black peppercorns, pressing the pepper into the meat to stay put.

Grill to taste over a very hot grill.

Serve steak on a bed of lightly dressed greens. Sprinkle red peppercorns on top for more zip and color.

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